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Hands (and ears) on with Xperia XZ2 and Xperia Ear Duo

Did you catch the Sony announcements from yesterday’s MWC conference and can’t wait to get your hands on the new Xperia tech? Us too…

That’s why today, we headed backstage at the Sony Mobil­e booth to try our newest handset and smart product to give you the lowdown on all the best features. ­First up, Xperia XZ2.

Dynamic Vibration System

A line we’re seeing a lot here on the Sony booth is ‘Entertainment to the Extreme’ and the Dynamic Vibration System (DVS) innovation is the best showcase of this we’ve come across.

For years we’ve seen and heard films, games and music, well now we can feel it as well. DVS analyses audio data and translates it into haptic feedback letting you feel the action in your hands.

Now, if you think this is like the buzz you get from a WhatsApp message notification, think again. It’s more DUALSHOCK 4 meets Xperia and you don’t have to be a phone engineer to see where the extra power is coming from. Take a look at a standard phone vibration module vs DVS…

You vs The guy she told you not to worry about
DVS affords a surprisingly varied level of feedback. A Spider-man trailer featured a scene set on the subway and as a train chugged over the tracks we felt every bump along the way.

Playing Angry Birds we could feel the tension of the catapult as we lined up our shot and the resulting carnage as our bird crashed, smashed and bashed its way through the blocks.

When it comes to music, Sony’s audio expertise shines through with powerful front facing stereo speakers making this Xperia device our loudest one yet. We were treated to Sony Music artist Rita Ora in a comparison with the XZ1 that saw an astounding improvement in sound quality and volume with DVS adding to the experience as we felt every beat of the kick drum and hiss of a hi-hat.

Xperia XZ2: Immersive viewing to the extreme.
4K HDR Video Recording

Xperia XZ2 is the world’s first phone capable of capturing 4K HDR movie recording. To put that in context, if you wanted to buy a Sony digital imaging camera capable of this, it would cost around £2,000. Now, you’ve got that power in your pocket. Move over Spielberg.

It’s a level of realism that needs to be seen to be believed and so – to demo this – we were presented with a beautifully designed stained glass window, an XZ1 and the new XZ2, both shooting video alongside one another. The difference? The XZ1 is no slouch but in 4K HDR on XZ2 the footage looked incredible… colours popped, blacks were rich and deep, and the even the tiniest of details was visible.

It’s time to get shooting, who knows you could be standing alongside some of the world’s greats at The Academy Awards in a few years time.

See the difference with 4K HDR Movie recording
Design

Let’s not forget the product design. With XZ2 comes a complete design overhaul and an effortlessly smooth new curved 3D glass surface that fit very comfortably into the palm of our hand. Quality is the word that came to mind and the device has a reassuring heft in the hand.

Slimmed-down bezels open up an expansive 18:9 HDR screen display – perfect for enjoying entertainment on the move.

The fingerprint sensor has shifted to the back but, just like the power button placement being right where your thumb is, you’ll find your index finger naturally falls onto it. Bravo ergonomics team.

The seamless design means there’s no headphone jack. However we’re told the XZ2 will ship with a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor allowing use of wired headphones and supporting Hi-Res audio.

You also have four new colours to choose from; Liquid Silver, Liquid Black, Deep Green and Ash Pink. Our favourite? Has to be Deep Green which we’re told is inspired by ‘light streams at the bottom of the ocean’.

Introducing Xperia XZ2 - Made to touch your senses
Xperia Ear Duo

First debuted at MWC ’17 as Xperia Ear Open Style CONCEPT, Xperia Ear Duo was the surprise opener to the MWC ’18 press conference.

The idea behind this latest Smart Product has always been ‘hands-free, eyes-free, ears-free’. The introduction of Dual Listening technology ‘reimagines the wireless headset’ and creates a unique two way listening experience. Essentially, not only are you able to listen to music and receive notifications, you’ll simultaneously be able to hear environmental sounds and conversations, meaning you won’t miss a thing.

It’s a totally new experience and one that has to be experienced to understand how you really can hear two things at once.

This was demonstrated in a beautifully simple manner, by letting us listen to music as the second half of the demo was presented – a complete dual listening experience. You’d be right in thinking that this could be an odd sensation to get used to, however, after a few minutes of testing we were able to simultaneously hear our brilliant demo team discuss the product and the Daft Punk songs playing in our ears.

In terms of feel, Duo felt much like wearing a standard set of in-ear headphones, weighing in at just 10.6g each. In fact, the lack of a unit inside your ear actually made them more wearable than comparable earphones. The supplied carry case also doubles up as a charger, neat.

Xperia Ear Duo: Packs a lot into each 10.6g package
Want to try it for yourself? Discover more about Xperia Ear Duo here.